1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to systems for time management in sporting events and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a system allowing for wireless communication of event timing to officiating personnel.
2. Background of the Invention
The sports of basketball, football, hockey and wrestling all share one important factor—time. The importance of time keeping and an indisputable decision on when the clock has stopped or should be stopped in fast paced athletic events has existed as long as the sports themselves have been played with formal rules and timers. Most athletic events requiring timekeeping segregate the duties of timekeeping and officiating the game or match. Different people or groups of people carry out the important functions of officiating and timekeeping. To meet this need for exact timing, the state of the art has either connected highly precise clocks to buzzers, horns and flashing lights or required human action in the time starting or stopping process. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,369,697 B1 ('697) which teaches using a wireless system requiring simultaneous operation of a plurality of clocks through multiple mobile transmitters to an off-field single receiver.
However, no system has emerged to directly connect the two main participants in the timekeeping process—the official or referee down on the field, mat or floor and the official timekeeper monitoring or managing the athletic event time. Not having a device to assist these two parties in communicating introduces the potential for error in the process and may ultimately affect the outcome of the match or game. For example, at the end of a hypothetical wrestling match, the score could be tied. To break the tie, there could be a flurry of activity between the opponents in a last second attempt to score points and break the tie. The referee at the exact moment time is to end may have to make a split-second decision as to whether points have been scored before times runs out or if no points are to be scored if time has already expired. The current technology involves having someone with a rolled-up towel whack the referee with the towel when the timekeeper signals to the towel holder that time has expired. The potential error introduced in this situation is compounded if the wrestling match is during a tournament where multiple matches may be taking place potentially distracting the timekeepers, towel holders and or individual match referees. Many times major athletic tournaments require multiple games or matches to be played on different fields or areas of the stadium at the same time. The confluence of multiple on-going matches each requiring separate referees and timekeepers only serves to amplify the interference encountered by the referees and timekeepers in attempting to communicate and carry-out their respective duties.
Other factors potentially compounding the communication problems between game or match officials and timekeepers are the size of the area of play, the pace of the sport played and the inherent mobility required of the referee. For example, the quality of timekeeping for a high school football game could be affected by all of these factors. Football fields are 100 yards long and 50 yards wide. Timekeepers are usually located in the stands another 20–30 yards from the field while referees are located on the field. To communicate at the start of the game, end of the quarters, half-time and the end of the game, the timekeeper signals the referee using horns, buzzers or gunshots. The referee communicates with the timekeeper using a whistle to signal the timekeeper to stop the clock. The timekeeper restarts the game clock thus counting down time when the football goes “into play” i.e. the offensive center has moved the ball or the kicker has kicked the ball. Environmental conditions can interfere with this communication process and affect the quality of timekeeping. During a single play in a football game, one referee may have to move 50–100 yards to maintain line of sight with the football and signal the timekeeper that the clock should be stopped if play stops because the ball is down or out of bounds; or a touchdown or safety has been scored. Many times the referee has to engage in this rapid movement with the whistle in his mouth obstructing his airway and producing a potential hazard. Because the communication process is unprotected and interference from the general environmental conditions (i.e. fan noise, wind noise, darkness, snowfall, etc.) accompanying the event can interfere with the communication process, the quality of the timekeeping could suffer again affecting the ultimate outcome. The invention described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,354 ('354) applies advanced technology to this situation but inherently fails to solve the main problem associated with the athletic event—background inference. This patent describes an invention that improves communication between the time mechanism and the referees by receiving the sound produced by the official's signal (i.e. whistle) to then effectuate the automatic starting and stopping of the clock or timing mechanism. The patent describes a complex system combining transmitters, receivers, mixers and filters necessary to handle the background noise and inference found at the athletic event to allow the communication between the referee and the timing mechanism. The system defines a complex system for the complex problem caused by background noise which can be especially difficult to filter or control when multiple non-synchronized wrestling matches are taking place inside a gymnasium or other indoor venue amplifying and distorting the background noise and inference.
The '354 patent does not address the unique problem of multiple non-synchronized athletic events taking place in close proximity to each other such as found in wrestling tournaments involving multiple participants. Additionally, the importance of having the timekeeper control the timing of the athletic event is devalued and considered only necessary if the described automated remote control fails.
It is an object of this invention to optimize the performance of the referee by allowing the referee to focus solely on the action occurring on the field of play and delegate official timing duties to other officials. The failure of the designs described by the '354 and '697 patents is underscored by their limited use in the market place and inability to enter the market in large numbers.
Another factor affecting the quality of the officiating is the referee's auditory capacity. It is well known that age and or continuous exposure to loud noise can damage a person's hearing and result in a loss of auditory reception. Referees can be forced to prematurely retire, resulting in a great loss of officiating experience, due to a reduced ability to hear the timekeeper's signals. It is clear that an advancement in the communication between those with timekeeping duties and those with officiating duties is needed.